Press releases

The Children's Commissioner's first major Inquiry into school exclusions, a high level investigation into mental health provision in the youth justice system and a report which ended the ‘Gentleman's Agreement' being used to return unaccompanied children to France topped an ambitious programme of work which resulted in children's views positively changing key policy decisions.

The Office of the Children's Commissioner's Annual Report 2011-12 published today outlines the organisation's impact and achievements in a range of policy areas, as well as providing an overview of the progress made across all projects.

Maggie Atkinson, the Children's Commissioner for England, said:
"It has been a busy and successful year for the Office of the Children's Commissioner. Following our stronger focus on becoming a children's rights organisation we have undertaken a number of successful projects, influencing significant changes to decisions that can improve children and young people's lives.

"Our energies focus on policy and practice on the ground where children's rights are ignored or violated when this is tested against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The profound impact we have made in a number of areas is largely due to the many children and young people who talk to us both openly and clearly, whether they are already doing well, or their lives are fraught with problems.  Our work helps to open doors for them to let the nation know they want to contribute to their communities and work with adults around them. 

"We are already well into another busy and productive year, which is producing ground breaking work in areas such as sexual exploitation, poverty, education and children's rights, that will lead to improvements in the lives of many vulnerable children and young people."

Nick Toner, a member of Amplify, the Children's Commissioner's advisory group made up of children and young people said:
"Amplify spend a lot of time each year working on projects in the Office of the Children's Commissioner's Business Plan and it is great to be able to share our achievements in this Annual Report. We feel fortunate to have the opportunity to get the voice of children and young people listened to and taken seriously by Maggie Atkinson and her team.

"Last year, the biggest piece of work we were involved with was the Children's Commissioner's School Exclusions Inquiry. We were part of the scoping stage right at the start of the Inquiry all the way through to the launch of the final report in the House of Commons. All of us are looking forward to working with the Office of the Children's Commissioner on this year's projects to achieve positive change for as many children as we can."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Office of the Children's Commissioner's (OCC) Annual Report 2011-12 is available on our website

2. Details of the OCC's current work programme are available in the Business Plan 2012-13 and Strategic Plan 2012-14

3. The Office of the Children's Commissioner is a national organisation led by the Children's Commissioner for England, Dr Maggie Atkinson. The post of Children's Commissioner for England was established by the Children Act 2004. It requires us to refer to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) when planning and carrying out our work. The Children's Commissioner has a duty to promote the views and interests of all children in England, in particular those whose voices are least likely to be heard, to the people who make decisions about their lives: www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk

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